Rhubarb plant named &#39;LMR2013&#34;

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of rhubarb,  Rheum rhabarbarum , characterized by foliage that doesn&#39;t senesce until temperatures get low enough for a hard frost (usually around 25 degrees F.), bright red petioles with excellent flavor and sweetness and vigorous growth.

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION

Rheum rhabarbarum (syn. R.×cultorum)

VARIETY DENOMINATION

‘LMR2013’

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Rheum rhabarbarum, and known by the cultivar name of ‘LMR2013’. The genus Rheum is a member of the family Polygonaceae.

The new cultivar was found by the inventor in a cultivated area of a rhubarb farm in Canby, Oreg. It is unique in that it does not senesce until after a hard frost, giving a much longer production time for the petioles. In Canby, Oreg. production can continue up to 3 months longer than other varieties in a low frost year.

The closest comparison cultivar is believed to be Rheum rhabarbarum ‘Crimson Red’, an unpatented plant. Compared to Rheum rhabarbarum ‘Crimson Red’, the new cultivar has a redder, rounder petiole, and greater winter hardiness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This new cultivar is characterized by:

1) foliage with excellent winter hardiness, that doesn't senesce until temperatures get low enough for a hard frost (usually around 25 degrees F.),

2) bright red petioles with excellent flavor and sweetness,

3) large fleshy petioles which are tender with low stringiness,

4) heavy yielding, and

5) vigorous growth.

The new variety has been reproduced by asexual propagation (division) in Canby, Oreg. Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by division with lateral shoots as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows one-year-old Rheum ‘LMR2013’ newly dug and in a 15 gallon container in May in Canby, Oreg.

FIG. 2 shows a one year old plant in bloom growing in the field in late June in Canby, Oreg.

FIG. 3 shows the same plants in the field.

DETAILED PLANT DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of the new cultivar based on observations of a typical one-year-old specimen dug from the field in Canby, Oreg. and put in a 15 gallon container. Canby is Zone 8 on the USDA Hardiness map. Temperatures range from a high of 95 degrees F. in August to an average of 32 degrees F. in January, but daily temperatures can be lower. Normal rainfall in Canby is 42.8 inches per year. The color descriptions are all based on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 5th edition, published in 2007.

-   Plant:     -   -   Type.—herbaceous rhizomatous perennial.         -   Hardiness.—observed in USDA Zone 8.         -   Size.—42 cm tall and 78 cm wide.         -   Habit.—clumping, with 4 crowns. -   Leaf:     -   -   Type.—simple.         -   Arrangement.—rosette.         -   Shape.—ovate.         -   Venation.—pinnate.         -   Margins.—undulate.         -   Apex.—obtuse.         -   Base.—cordate with lobes curling up or overlapping at the             base.         -   Blade size.—typical — grows to 36 cm long and 28 cm wide.         -   Surface.—glabrous above, sparsely pubescent on veins below.         -   Petiole.—typical — 25 cm long and 2 cm wide and 1.4 cm thick             near base, Red Purple 59A when young and first mature,             lightening to Red Purple 59A at base and speckled up the             petiole over Yellow Green 146D.         -   Leaf color.—topside Green 137A with veins Yellow Green 145C,             bottom side Yellow Green 147C with veins Yellow Green 145D. -   Inflorescence:     -   -   Type.—large panicle on upright stem.         -   Size of inflorescence.—typical — 29 cm wide and 72 cm long             without peduncle, 149 cm tall with peduncle.         -   Number of flowers.—typical would be about 5000.         -   Peduncle.—typical — 48 mm wide and 77 cm long, hollow, 1 to             3 branched with petiolate leaf at branches (typical blade             grows to 39 cm long and 26 cm wide, topside Green 137A with             veins Yellow Green 145C, bottom side Yellow Green 147C with             veins Yellow Green 145D), glabrous, Yellow Green 145C.         -   Pedicel.—3 to 5 mm long, glabrous, Yellow Green 145D.         -   Bloom period.—late June to August in Canby, Oreg. -   Flower bud:     -   -   Size.—typical — 3 mm deep and 2.5 mm wide.         -   Description.—ovoid.         -   Color.—White 155A. -   Flower:     -   -   Type.—perfect, actinomorphic.         -   Shape.—campanulate.         -   Size.—about 3 mm deep and 3 mm wide.         -   Perianth description.—about 3 mm deep and 3 mm wide, 6             tepals, tip obtuse, margin entire, both sides glabrous and             White 155A, 3 outer tepals obovate, about 1 mm long and 1 mm             wide, cupped, 3 inner tepals obovate, about 1.5 mm long and             1.5 mm wide; stamen 9, about 2 mm long, White NN155A,             anthers about 0.5 mm long, Yellow 16C, pollen 11C; ovary             about 1 mm deep and 2 mm wide, White NN155A, triangular to             box-shaped with 3-4 deflexed styles, styles less than about             1 mm long, head-like stigmas, about 1 mm wide.         -   Fragrance.—unpleasant.         -   Lastingness.—each panicle blooms for about 3 weeks on the             plant. -   Fruit: three-to-four-sided achene with winged sides -   Seed: None observed -   Disease and pest resistance and tolerance: The new cultivar is     typical to the genus. No known resistances to pests or diseases. No     problems have been found in Canby, Oreg. 

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Rheum rhabarbarum plant as herein shown and described. 